


Just for Spite

by TullyBlue



Series: Post Hummel [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast, Episode: s02e14 Blame It On the Alcohol, Jealousy, M/M, Rachel Berry House Party Trainwreck Extravaganza, Revenge Duets, Underage Drinking, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 17:33:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TullyBlue/pseuds/TullyBlue
Summary: For once, Kurt does something a normal teenager would do: gets angry, gets drunk, and gets even.





	Just for Spite

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of a beautiful road leading to heartbreak. But before that, let's see how it came about.
> 
> A few details are smudged to fit the story, like who's dating who. But if you watched Glee it's not like you can complain. C'mon. We all know how it goes.
> 
> Song used is Joan Jett's I Hate Myself for Loving You.

There was a hard bass line thumping downstairs, keeping pace with Kurt's rapid footfalls on the stairs. He rushed into Mr. and Mr. Berry's bedroom, firmly locking the door behind him. His hands rapidly smoothed imaginary creases from his outfit the moment he was safely alone, minute shakes becoming a little more apparent. He reached into his pocket and withdrew three blue test tubes with foil tops. A quick jab of his perfectly shaped fingernails punctured the foil. Kurt drank one, annoyed at the sharp hint of alcohol (but then again, he wasn’t drinking these Tooters, as Brittany called them, for nothing). The other two followed in quick succession. Grimacing, he took long strides into the Berrys' en suite bathroom.

 

Not only was the master bathroom the only place in the Berry household with floor to ceiling mirrors, it was also the only place he was guaranteed to be alone at this moment in time. Kurt could count at least six of his friends who would be interested in sexual escapades on Rachel's bed (Rachel included), which meant her room and attached bathroom were a no-go. The kitchen, living room, and den were all occupied by enthusiastic party goers. That left the guest and master bedrooms, and Kurt didn't want to think about what could be happening in the guest bedroom after watching Brittany push an enthusiastic looking Artie through the door.

 

 _Rachel could very well be pushing an enthusiastic Blaine through her bedroom door right now_ , a traitorous stray thought reminded him.

 

How did Rachel _fucking_ Berry end up with everything Kurt wanted? After the Defying Gravity debacle (and, oh, does it still hurt to think about), after Finn, after every single time an entire choir room of students was ignored for the so-called star of the Glee club – after all that, he was still coming in second place to that _hag_. He paced the length of the bathroom for a while, stopping when he caught his reflection in the mirror.

 

He was even paler than usual, a sharp look to both his eyes and the straight line his lips were set in. His eyes had the smallest bit of red in and around them that betrayed his consistent effort not to cry. Displeased by how easily his face gave away his emotions, Kurt strode back into the bedroom. The only thing that satisfied him was his clothes. Despite the night's events, nothing had ruffled his gorgeous outfit of the night. That was one thing no emotion could ruin.

 

Though he wouldn’t put it past Rachel to slushie him her damn self if she thought he was in her way.

 

She was so ambitious in everything she did, even preferring to dominate instead of win. Rachel would have a hard time in life finding friends or lovers when she placed competition above all else. She would end up alone and bitter – by her own mistakes. Cruel thoughts for Blaine trickled in as well. Despite his consistent flirting (because it doesn’t matter what he said, you can’t serenade someone with Teenage Dream _platonically_ ), here he is sucking face with Rachel. Despite being _gay_ , even.

 

Feeling both frustrated and empty, Kurt sat down on trunk at the end of Mr. and Mr. Berry's bed. He couldn’t believe his plan to impress Blaine had turned out so poorly. While Kurt fumed and hid away licking his metaphorical wounds, Blaine was kissing Rachel and laughing with Rachel and singing with Rachel. In fact, this whole stupid party when from disaster to absolute hell when his date hopped on stage with her. Kurt ran his hands over his thighs, both smoothing the material of his jeans and trying not to rip out his perfectly styled hair. And then, they stilled.

 

He had an idea. He had a fan-fucking-tastic idea. It was there in front of him the entire time, quite literally at some points. Kurt Hummel would do what he did best. He would get on stage and sing.

 

*

 

The song choice took him fifteen minutes and was a bit out of his comfort zone. He grabbed a glass of something fruity and strong out of Tina's pushy hands. By the time he had finished it, the song was well within his limits (and for once, his dad would probably be pleased with it). Now, though, a duet partner. If he narrowed it down to just the boys, his performance would have a better impact. That did, however, mean he would have to talk one into the performance and then perform with them. While Kurt enjoyed duets, he was distinctly aware that most of his peers were idiots.

 

Well. They would have to go along with it anyway. Now he just had to pick one.

 

There was a new drink in his hand as he started his selection. Blaine was a no-go, as that was who Kurt had to upstage. Finn was obviously out; while it would undoubtedly send a message to Rachel, Kurt knew he would be uncomfortable and stiff the whole time. Also, he was still McKinley's worst dancer. There was Sam, charming and funny - but Kurt remembered how their last duet discussion went and moved on. Artie was the most talented male singer in the room (besides himself, and ignoring Schue's bias for Finn), but he and Brittany had yet to reappear. He could always wait for them – but no, who knew how long they would be? Everyone knew Mike couldn’t sing and Kurt needed more than graceful eye candy. His choices were dwindling. This duet needed to happen soon.

 

Kurt took a sip from his cup and eyed his last option. Noah Puckerman was certainly a good singer. The raw charisma and talent, though unrefined, may just be what he needed. Besides that, he was conventionally attractive and quite popular. He could play the guitar as well (just acoustic? Kurt pondered). Only a week ago, Blaine had confessed to Kurt that he found Puck to be a little intimidating and very annoying. Also, there was the fact that Puck towered over Blaine. Who was not at all sensitive about his height.

 

Kurt finished his drink.

 

* 

 

"Does your musical prowess extend to the electric guitar or are you content to strum along with ballads and pseudo country music?"

 

Puck, sitting on the arm of the sofa with his arm around Lauren, blinked up at him. “What?" His hazel eyes were the smallest bit unfocused.

 

“Can you play the guitar for a rock song I'd like to perform?”

 

Puckerman blinked at him again and noticed he was nearly eye level, despite him sitting down. “You’re gonna sing something rock? Whatcha got?”

 

“Joan Jett's _I Hate Myself for Loving You_.”

 

Lauren started shoving Puck off the couch before Kurt had even finished. She smacked his ass and said, “Get up there and sing. I’m tired of looking at you.”

 

Puck smirked and leaned down, crowding her. “Do I get a treat if I’m good?”

 

“Yeah, if you’re good you won’t have to walk home,” she snorted.

 

Puck rolled his eyes as he walked away from her, heading in the direction of the Berrys' instrument collection. Kurt followed, pleased at how easy it was to convince the bone-headed jock to help out. This duet partner crouched down and inspected the two guitars in from of him. The only difference Kurt saw was their colors – one red and one white – but by Puck's disdainful look at the white one, there had to be more differences than similarities. He plucked at the red guitar's strings, fiddled with some knobs, and turned to Kurt.

 

“You need back-up, too?” Puck asked.

 

“Actually, what do you think about a duet?”

 

Shock sparked in his eyes, settling into a satisfied smirk. “Getting back at our hostess, Hummel?”

 

Kurt grinned, half his teeth bared and a dangerous glint in his eye. He was surprised Puck had caught on so quickly. “Do I seem like the kind of person to do that, Puckerman? I just want to…step out of my comfort zone.”

 

He answered with a grin of his own and a gesture to steps of the empty stage. Kurt ran back to Lauren, just long enough to whisper a few instructions in her ear. Then he took a deep breathe and started walking towards the stage.

 

Ten minutes ago, his hands were shaking - maybe out of anger, maybe out of anxiety. Now, they were steady. He climbed the quick one-two-three steps between the floor and the stage. Across the room, Lauren threw a smirk and a fist pump his way before revving up the karaoke machine. Kurt moved to stand center-stage just as Puckerman entered his peripheral, guitar in hand. They were actually doing this.

 

Confusion slowly dawned on a few faces in the small crowd, mostly those sober enough to still notice their surroundings. Finn was among them, with Artie (when had he returned? Kurt didn’t notice) and Quinn following. Mercedes stopoed chatting with Sam and whooped for Kurt, but didn't seem to notice his company on stage. Somewhere in the corner Brittany and Mike were exchanging dance moves while Santana cried on Tina's shoulder. And right there, in the middle of it all, were Blaine and-

 

"Kurt! You're singing with Puck?!"

 

Rachel.

 

A steady drum beat started up behind him and seconds later, Noah Puckerman kicked off their first performance together. He approached the mic with a slinking ease that Kurt would have killed for. Puck's voice was lower, huskier, than his normal register. When he cut his eyes at Kurt and sang, "I know I'm hanging but I'm still wanting you," with a grin, Kurt knew his duet partner intended to liven up their performance.

 

Kurt sprang in for the next verse. He spun towards Puckerman after the first line, pausing long enough to deliver the second while standing back to back; the third, however, was accompanied by a sour look in Blaine's direction.

 

They shared the chorus - it felt accusatory on both ends and left the pair breathing harder. Kurt watched Noah perform the next few lines, all suggestive body language and cocky eye-contact. He felt more alive on the stage, anytime or anywhere. The liquor warmed his blood and the show made him shine. But this was something else, something new. Puck stalked halfway across the stage to get in his face, asking where he had been and speaking of dreams Kurt's sure the other boy would never have. And it was an act, a show, a performance (a lie) that set his blood to boiling. There was an audience, yes, but now he wasn't singing for them. He wasn’t even singing to piss off Rachel and/or Blaine anymore.

 

No, he sang for the way he made Puck's eyes grow wide when he grabbed him by the collar. "Hey man, bet you can treat me right!" Wide eyes and a crazy grin that only turned into a smirk with the next line but dropped in surprise when Kurt finished it off and spun on his heel back to the mic stand.

 

Puck was having none of that, strumming his guitar and stalking circles around Kurt. His gaze was downright predatory, and his prey? Ready to be devoured. Kurt momentarily panicked, telling himself crushing on a straight guy never worked out. Even after enough alcohol to make his head spin and a duet that left them inches apart and panting after delivering the last few lines.

 

He didn’t have time to think about it, however, as Puck grabbed his hand, turned him to their audience, and drug him into a bow. Their friends were going wild. Finn was cheering the loudest, despite the obvious question on his face about how the performance even happened. Blaine was clapping enthusiastically – the song choice and dirty looks going right over his head. Next to him, Rachel had gotten the message loud and clear. While everyone else was dragging them offstage for congratulations and high fives, she pulled Blaine in for an envious make out session. For a second, his chest filled with pure rage. How dare she! Couldn’t he even give a good performance without her ruining it?

 

Kurt was half poised to go smack the happy couple apart when a large pair of hands settled on his waist. He had no time to spin or protest before he was being lifted up and up, another pair of hands grabbing at him until he was swinging his legs over Puck's shoulders. Someone put another drink in his hand and he tangled the other one in Puck's stupid fucking Mohawk.

 

The goofiest grin the McKinley High Glee Club had ever seen on Kurt's face broke out when they all cheered and raised their cups to him. He decided, Fuck it. His rivalry with Rachel and heartbreak from Blaine forgotten, Kurt partied on.


End file.
